The Thokar Niaz Baig bus terminal which was built by the city district government to reduce traffic congestion at the Lorry Adda remains a stopover three months after it was opened, The Express Tribune has learnt.
The Rs200 million terminal is built on an area of 109 kanals. It was completed in October 2012. The bus stop, which has the capacity to dock 128 buses, was constructed so that the traffic load at Lorry Adda could be reduced.
The project took six months to complete and immediately after its completion, the city district government asked the transporters to move to Thokar. However, despite several deadlines by the government, the transporters have refused.
The terminal is currently being used only as a stopover where buses from Niazi Adda stop to get more passengers onboard.
Operators like Ali Express, Bilal Travels, Faisal Travels, Niazi Travels, Kohistan Travels and Rajput Travels have set up their counters at Thokar Niaz Beg. On their way south from Lorry Adda, buses operated by these companies, stop at Thokar to pick up passengers.
Punjab Bus Owners’ Association President Haji Khalid said every thing about the bus terminal at Thokar Niaz Biag was absurd.
Khalid said the city district government’s efforts to shift the terminal were unsuccessful because transporters were “sceptical about its utility.”
“The terminal should have been built on the left hand side of the road so that the buses did not have to waste time to take u-turns over and over again,” he said.
Khalid said it was best that some multinational company like Daewoo took over the terminal. He said it was too late now to fix the design flaws.
“Only Daewoo passengers can travel that distance to take a bus,” he said.
Niazi Travels General Manager Farooq-i-Azam said Lorry Adda was closer to the City’s business hub. He said traders at Azam Cloth Market, the Shoe Market, Auto Market and several other markets found the Lorry Adda much more accessible.
“Why will people travel to Thokar to catch a bus…the terminal was impractical to begin with as it lacked proper access,” he said.
“The design team should have considered giving it some sort of access…The next u-turn is a kilometer away,” he said.
“It takes a bus at least 15 minutes to take the turn and come back,” he added.
Lorry Adda administrator Ayesha Mumtaz, who also manages the terminal at Thokar Niaz Beg, said it was up to the City’s new administration to decide the fate of the bus stand.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2013.